Maggie Kirkpatrick: ‘I’m a tough old bird’

The nightmare never ends for Prisoner star Maggie Kirkpatrick, who has suffered a heart scare, panic attacks and post traumatic stress disorder since being falsely accused of sexually abusing a teenage fan.

Ten months after her conviction was quashed, the veteran TV favourite admits she’s still struggling to put her life back together.

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‘I’ve always considered myself a tough old bird, extremely resilient to life’s slings and arrows - but this entire ordeal continues to haunt me,’ confides the 75-year-old, who became a 1980s icon playing sadistic jail warder Joan ‘The Freak’ Ferguson.

‘Despite trying to forget the past, I’m finding it near impossible to get my life and sanity back together. There are days when I’m a complete mess.’

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